This recipe reminds me of my mom. She used to make pepper steak with white rice and the sauce would just soak into the rice and make it nice and flavorful. After posting this from my facebook live video, I challenged my 81 year old mom to post her recipe in my comments. Well, we’ll see!!

I started replicating a lot of moms cooking when I moved out of the house in my twenties. Living on my own (sometimes with roommates) I had to learn how to cook. Rents were so high in Boston (surprise) that I had to buy groceries and become very creative in the kitchen. I remember going to the grocery store and purchasing enough chicken and beef to get me through the week. I was never one of those college ramen kids, so I learned pretty quick, and mostly through trial and. error.

Although this isn’t my mothers recipe, this is what I did:

Steak – I used precut stir fry steak (approximately 2 pounds).. I rinsed it, pat it really dry (you want to pat it dry so it doesn’t produce any moisture when cooking (this will toughen the steak). You want to sear it so it keeps the juices in.

This dish is great with flank, skirt, or flat steak (the less expensive you get, the more you have to pound the steak). Here’s what you do to pound it: take plastic wrap and place it on the counter, place steak on top, then place another piece of plastic wrap on top. Pound with cube side first, then flat side (until steak is really thin). Pepper and toss with flour until lightly coated (if you are Keto, you don’t have to coat it). Set aside.

Prep a skillet with 1 tsp of oil and 1 tbs butter. High heat until butter is just browned (but don’t burn it). Toss the flour coated meat into the skillet, not crowding it (remember, we don’t want the meat to steam, we want it to sear). If you have to do it in batches, you may need to divide 3 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Sautés until beef gets crispy (flash cook for about 1 minute on each side). Turn heat down if it gets too hot (you can always take the pan off the heat too). Set aside.

Prepare the liquid: combine the following. Two cups of water, 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum, 1 tsp better than bullion (beef flavor), tsp sugar (I use Swerve sugar alternative), 1 tsp mince ginger, 1/4 cup soy sauce. Place to side.

After slicing the yellow pepper, red pepper, and onion (cut onion in half, then medium slices (around the same width of peppers). If you want to add green beans and/or asparagus to this meal you can. Toss all ingredients into the saucepan with two cloves of garlic minced (if you don’t like a lot of garlic, only use one clove). Add water as you cook the vegetables. I usually judge the water as I go because I like my pepper al dente (bit to the tooth). My husband likes the peppers mushy. :(.

Once peppers and onions are cooked to your liking, toss the liquid you prepared into the pan and cook (boil) until it thickens. The Xanthum Gum is the binder to this recipe. Toss in the beef and cook for two minutes.

Server over white rice and/or Chinese noodles.